Belt supported cartridge pouch



June 3, 1958 F. w. BLANCHARD 2,837,259

BELT SUPPORTED CARTRIDGE POUCH Filed April 1; 1957 fiZdVa m azm/c/Mep INVENTOR.

United States Patent BELT SUPPORTED CARTRIDGE POUCH Floyd W. Blanchard, Los Angeles, Calif. Application April. 1, 1957, Serial No. 649,691

4 Claims. (Cl. 224-15) I This invention relates to a holder for firearm cartridges and ispa'rticularly adapted for use as a compact belt supported cartridge carrier.

It is an object of the invention to provide a highly efficient yet compact cartridge holder for use by sportsmen which can. be supported on the belt of the user for ready access and wherein cartridges can be quickly and easily removed, yet are retained therein in a simple and safe manner.

Another object of the invention. is to provide a cartridge pouch or carrier which can be folded into an extremely compact form, supported by the belt of the user when not in use, yet which can be quickly unfolded to a position for immediate use when desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means for yieldably retaining cartridges wherein they partly project from the carrier and their removal opening is protectively covered by a portion of the flexible material which constitutes a major portion of the body of the structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combined carrier body and supporting belt-engaging member which may conveniently be formed from a single blank of flexible material and which is so formed that it can be folded into a compact closed holder when not in use.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following description in connection with the accompanying drawing.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention illustrating its relationship to a supporting belt, shown in broken lines.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the device in its unfolded position and supported from a belt.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken approximately on-the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

The major portion of the article is formed of a flexible material such as leather, woven fabric or a flexible plastic substance. It includes a belt-engaging portion 6 having slots 8 therein so that the trouser supporting belt of a sportsman can be threaded through the openings to support the device on the belt.

Extending downwardly from the belt supporting portion 6 is a flexible body 10 which preferably is formed integrally with the belt-engaging portion 6.

If the flexible blank were laid out flat, its medial and lateral lower edge portions would comprise the portions 12 and 14, respectively. These lower edge portions are secured by suitable rivets 16 to the lower and generally upstanding side edges of a plate 18 having a pair of parallel vertical slots 20. The upper end of the plate 18 is bent over as at 22 and there is an enlarged slot end portion 24 formed in this bent over plate portion.

The body 10 of the cartridge holder or pouch includes a pair of wings 26 and 28 which are shown to comprise the top of the receptacle which holds the cartridges. These wings overlap. Wing 26, as shown in Fig. 3, is provided with an aperture 30 and wing 28 is provided "ice with a separable fastener element 32 which passes through the aperture 30 in the wing 26 and detachably engages a cooperating separable fastener element 34 formed at the upper rear portion of the receptacle body 10, or it might be described as being located at the lower end of the belt-engaging portion 6.

The forward corners of the overlapping wings 26 and 23 comprise flaps 36 and 38, respectively. These flaps overlie the enlarged upper ends 24 of the slots 20 which are formed in the rigid plate 18. Thus, when a cartridge such as one of the cartridges shown in Fig. 2 is drawn upwardly in its slot, it can be pulled out of the slot by flexing the flap 38 upwardly so that the rim of the car tridge will pass through the enlarged slot end 24. However, when the user of the article is engaged in activities such as walking or climbing sufiiciently to cause the cartridges which extend partially through the slotted plate to bounce, they will not pass through the upper ends of the slots because of the yieldable retention supplied by the flaps 36 and 38.

When the pouch or carrier is not in use, it is folded to the position of Fig. 1. If it has previously been in the position of Fig. 2, the body portion can be folded upwardly and outwardly and thence inwardly to bring the slotted plate 18 against the belt-engaging portion 6. In this upward folding movement the cartridges which extend through the slots will tend to fall back into the interior of thebody 1t) and when the plate is folded against the belt-engaging portion 6, those cartridges which still project somewhat will be pushed into the body 10.

As the pouch or carrier is folded upwardly as described and if it is empty or only partially filledwith cartridges", the front plate portion 18 can be collapsed at least partially toward the rear of the body portion 10, the overlapping wings 26 and 28 preferably being creased somewhat transversely of the body so that the body 10 will be reduced to a minimum bulk.

When the device is folded up to the position of Fig. l, the more narrow tongue 40 projecting upwardly from the belt-engaging portion 6 is folded down over the uppermost portion of the upwardly folded body and it has a separable fastener element 42 which is adapted to detachably engage one of a pair of separable fastener elements 44 on the lower rear side of the pouch body as viewed in Fig. 2, but which are upwardly and outwardly disposed when the device is folded up as illustrated in Fig. l. The two elements 44 are provided for an adjustable securing means, depending upon the degree to which the pouch body it can be collapsed.

It should be noted that within the pouch body 10, the separable fastener elements 44 have their inner upset portions 46 extended through a small stiff plate 48 which assists in holding the separable fastener elements 44 in position when one of them is snapped into the cooperating fastener element 42. It should also be noted that the elements 44 and their base plate 48 are located in alignment with that portion of the slotted plate 18 which lies between the slots 20, thus providing a substantial support for the fastener elements 44 when one of them is being connected with the element 42.

It should be understood that various changes can be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts without departing from the spirit of the in vention.

I claim:

1. A belt supported cartridge pouch including a single blank of flexible material having an upwardly disposed belt-engaging portion, a body portion at the lower end of the belt-engaging portion, a plate having a generally vertically disposed slot with an enlarged upper end, the medial and lateral lower edge portion of the flexible body portion of said blank being secured respectively to the lower and generally vertical side edges of said plate, said blank having lateral wings folded inwardly toward each other, said wings, when folded, having their rearward portions secured to the bottom of the belt-engaging portion of said blank and having adjacent forward portions secured to the upper part of .said plate and each wing having a marginal portion thereof constituting a flexible flap overlying the enlarged upper end of the slot in said plate.

2. A belt supported cartridge pouch including an up wardly disposed belt-engaging portion, a body portion at the lower end of the belt-engaging portion, a plate having a generally vertically disposed slot with an enlarged upper end, said body portion being flexible and medial and lateral lower edge portions thereof being secured respectively to the lower and generally vertical side edges of said plate, said body portion including wings folded inwardly toward each other adjacent the upper end of said plate and when folded, having their rearward portions connected to the bottom of the belt-engaging portion, said wings having adjacent forward portions se' cured to the upper part of said plate, each wing having a marginal portion thereof constituting a flexible flap overlying the enlarged upper end of the slot in said plate, and said flexible body portion, together with said slotted plate, defining a pouch-like receptacle for cartridges with said plate forming the front thereof, and wherein the sides of said pouch-like receptacle are V-shaped, and said wings being provided with a downward transverse fold to permit collapsing of the pouch-like receptacle including the front plate portion rearwardly toward the back of the pouch.

3. A belt supported cartridge pouch including an upwardly disposed flexible belt-engaging portion, a flexible body portion at the lower end of the belt-engaging portion, a plate having a generally vertically disposed" slot With an enlarged upper end, the medial and lateral lower edge portions of said flexible body being secured respectively to the lower and generally vertical side edges of said plate, said body including side wings folded inwardly toward each other, the adjacent forward portions of said wings being secured to the upper part of said plate and each wing having a marginal portion constituting a flexible flap overlying the enlarged upper end of the slot in said plate, and saidpouch, in its closed position, being swung upwardly to bring the slotted plate at the front of the pouch upwardly and rearwardly against the belt engaging portion of the pouch, and a detachable ,connection between the body portion and said belt-engaging portion when the body portion is swung upwardly against the belt-engaging portion.

4. A belt supported cartridge pouch including an upwardly disposed belt-engaging portion, a body portion having a flexible top and sides, the frontv of said body portion comprising a vertically slotted upstanding plate, the top of said body portion comprising overlappingwings folded inwardly: from opposite sides of the body, the back of the bodyhaving a forwardly disposed separable fastener element mounted thereon, one of said wings having an aperture therethrough adjacent an edge thereof and aligned with the separable fastener element on ,the back of said body, and the other of said wings having a rearwardly disposed, separable fastener element thereon in alignment with said first mentioned separable fastener element and with the aperture in the apertured wingv f ,1

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Oswald July 31, 1956 

